Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS – Get Free Report) and RxSight (NASDAQ:RXST – Get Free Report) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Cerus and RxSight, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Cerus | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.40 |
| RxSight | 3 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1.92 |
Cerus currently has a consensus target price of $5.25, indicating a potential upside of 112.55%. RxSight has a consensus target price of $8.17, indicating a potential upside of 71.33%. Given Cerus’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Cerus is more favorable than RxSight.
Valuation & Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Cerus | $206.13 million | 2.41 | -$15.63 million | ($0.03) | -82.33 |
| RxSight | $134.48 million | 1.48 | -$38.94 million | ($1.13) | -4.22 |
Cerus has higher revenue and earnings than RxSight. Cerus is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than RxSight, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
78.4% of Cerus shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.8% of RxSight shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.3% of Cerus shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 10.1% of RxSight shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Cerus and RxSight’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Cerus | -3.06% | -10.19% | -3.14% |
| RxSight | -36.80% | -17.35% | -14.70% |
Volatility & Risk
Cerus has a beta of 1.8, meaning that its share price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, RxSight has a beta of 1.16, meaning that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Cerus beats RxSight on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Cerus
Cerus Corporation operates as a biomedical products company. The company focuses on developing and commercializing the INTERCEPT Blood System to enhance blood safety. Its INTERCEPT Blood System, a proprietary technology for controlling biological replication that is designed to reduce blood-borne pathogens in donated blood components intended for transfusion. The company offers INTERCEPT Blood Systems for platelets and plasma, which is designed to inactivate blood-borne pathogens in platelets and plasma donated for transfusion; INTERCEPT Blood System for red blood cells to inactivate blood-borne pathogens in red blood cells donated for transfusion; and INTERCEPT Blood System for Cryoprecipitation that uses its plasma system to produce pathogen reduced cryoprecipitated fibrinogen complex for the treatment and control of bleeding, including massive hemorrhage associated with fibrinogen deficiency, as well as pathogen reduced plasma, cryoprecipitate reduced. It sells platelet and plasma systems through its direct sales force and distributors in the United States, Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Middle East, Latin America, and internationally. Cerus Corporation was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in Concord, California.
About RxSight
RxSight, Inc., a commercial-stage medical device company, engages in the research and development, manufacture, and sale of light adjustable intraocular lenses (LAL) used in cataract surgery in the United States and internationally. It offers RxSight system that enables doctors to customize and enhance the visual acuity for patients after cataract surgery. The company's RxSight system includes RxSight Light Adjustable Lens, a special photosensitive material that changes shape and power. RxSight light delivery device, an office-based light treatment device that delivers UV light in a programmed pattern to modify the LAL based on the visual correction needed to achieve desired vision after cataract surgery. It primarily serves cataract doctors. The company was formerly known as Calhoun Vision, Inc. and changed its name to RxSight, Inc. in February 2017. RxSight, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California.
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